A Day for a Wedding
by Little Miss Sarah
Summary: It's the day of the wedding rehearsal, and Victoria Everglot is terribly nervous yet excited. My sincere apologies for the awful title, darlings. Rated K.


**Author's Note:** Well, hey there! I haven't written anything in forever, I know. I had writer's block and still sort of do, so this may not be the greatest fanfiction. And for once, it's something not Little Shop related, too...although I'll get back to that. :D

* * *

Victoria Everglot's large eyes fluttered open on a chilly January morning. Almost immediately after waking up, a feeling of nervousness and dread surfaced in the pit of her stomach. Today was the wedding rehearsal.

A few months earlier, Victoria was informed that she was to be married. Her cold, unloving mother, Maudeline, had said that it was to solve the family's financial problems. The Everglots were aristocrats, yes, but they were destitute. The family fortune was lost a little earlier in time. Victoria learned she was to marry Victor Van Dort, the son of a wealthy fish merchant. Victoria was rather alarmed-she didn't even know this man! _Oh, well, _she thought. _I guess I'll just have to wait and see, I suppose._

As time passed, Victoria grew more and more hopeful and excited about the situation. Maybe she would actually fall in love with him, and he with her! She tried to imagine what he might look like on several occasions, but she couldn't come up with anything. All she really hoped was that he was sweet and kind, and could help solve her family's problems.

Now, as Victoria brushed out her long, light brown hair, all that hope turned to nervousness. Her maid Hildegarde entered the room. "Good morning, Victoria, dearie," the old woman said in her weary voice with a small grin. Victoria smiled. "Good morning to you, too, Hildegarde," she said back, and gave her maid a hug. Hildegarde had been Victoria's maid and governess ever since she was a little girl. She was about 45 when she started working for the Everglots, and had 6 children of her own, all grown up. She watched Victoria grow and gave her all the affection Victoria's cold, unloving parents didn't. Victoria, now 20, had watched Hildegarde age into a frail, arthritic old woman. Victoria could tell how much pain she was in, so most of the time she did everything herself. There was one thing she always had trouble with, though-lacing up her corset.

"Come, dearie, let's lace you up for today," Hildegarde said to Victoria. Victoria nodded in reply and picked up her white corset off of the chair she'd set it on the night before. Victoria really hated that thing, but they were mandatory for women to wear. She took off her nightgown, put on the corset, and did up the hooks in the front. She held the top of the corset so it wouldn't slip off, and sat down at her vanity mirror. Then, Hildegarde began pulling on the laces, careful not to pull too tight. She knew Victoria didn't like it _too_ tight. It was hard for the young girl to breathe if it was that way. Victoria pulled her hair up into the usual high, tight bun that framed her heart-shaped face so lovely. She applied a very light amount of powder to her face, then pinched her cheeks till the roses came. Victoria had very sensitive, pale skin, so she pinched it in the morning to get a rosy blush to her white cheeks. It always stayed like that for the rest of the day. As Hildegarde pulled on the corset strings, the dread in Victoria's stomach came back up again. Since nobody else would give her the right answer, she asked Hildegarde (whom she saw as a mother figure) the question that had been nipping at her for a while.

"Oh, Hildegarde, what...what if Victor and I don't-" Hildegarde pulled the strings even tighter, so much as Victoria lost her breath for a moment-"like each other?"

"As if _that_ has anything to do with marriage," she heard her mother, who had appeared at Victoria's door with her husband, say with a haughty laugh. Victoria blushed at her parents catching her in her underclothes. _Goodness, and Mother always says to knock when entering a room,_ she though. "Do you suppose your father and I 'like' each other?"

"Surely you must...a little," Victoria replied.

"Of course not!" her parents both said, with a look of disgust at each other.

"Get those corsets laced properly. I can hear you speak without gasping," her mother added as she and her husband walked away, down the hall. Victoria sighed. Hildegarde gave the corset laces one last, good pull and patted Victoria's shoulder. "There you go. Not too tight, I hope?" she said, a little smile on her withered face. Victoria shook her head and smiled back.

"Thank you, Hildegarde," she said sweetly. The old woman left the room, Victoria's question still unanswered.

Victoria became very agitated that her pondering still remained unanswered. She _needed_ to know what was to happen if she and Victor didn't like each other-they were supposed to spend the rest of their lives together, after all! One can't possibly be happy in a dull marriage. _Just look at Mother and Father_, she thought. _I do wonder how they've stuck through with it._ She sighed one last sigh and decided to get dressed. Victoria walked over to the wardrobe. She had many, many dresses, most of them very beautiful and fancy. She decided to wear her simple reddish-brown striped dress, with the buttoned bodice and wide stripes.

This one was one of her favorites because it was so simple-her extravagant dresses were something of her mother's idea. Victoria only wore them for parties. She took the bodice and skirt out of the wardrobe and laid them on her large, canopied four-post bed. The, she grabbed her many petticoats and set them down on a chair. Victoria slipped on the bodice portion of the dress. There were buttons all down the front of it. She did the buttons up, then slipped on the long skirt. Finally, she pulled on her petticoats so the dress was full and fluffy. This particular outfit was nice because its rich reddish-brown color set off Victoria's fair skin and it didn't add a lot of extra weight onto her slight but curvy frame. Victoria smoothed everything out, then pulled on her boots. She exhaled a short breath and went over to the vanity mirror to fix her hair. It _was_ rather messy, so she pulled it out of her bun and shook it loose. She observed her reflection in the mirror. "Should I leave it down, maybe?" she asked herself. "It does look rather nice that way...oh, but Mother would never approve." She gave her hair a good brushing, then put it back up into the high, tight bun. She smoothed her hair down, when the silence in her room disappeared. Victoria gasped at the sound of music. _Is that...piano I hear?_ she thought.

This was quite rare, for the piano downstairs was pretty much used only for decorational purposes. _Somebody must be here._ Victoria got up from her chair and descended down the stairs. _Oh, my, this music is beautiful! _she thought. The notes drifting from the piano had a sad, melancholy yet happy sound. They made her heart flutter. As she neared the bottom of the long staircase, she realized right away who this was-Victor.

Victoria silently crept up behind the tall, thin man whose fingers glided wistfully across the piano keys. She placed her hands behind her back and admired Victor's playing. He glanced at her, not noticing that there was a young woman standing next to him. He did a double take, then slammed down on the keys out of being startled.

"Oh! Do forgive me," he said softly as he jumped up, knocking the piano bench over.

_Oh, my..._ Victoria thought. "You play beautifully," she said quietly, at almost a whisper.

"I, I d-do apologize, M-Miss Everglot, how rude of me to, um..." Victor replied, extremely nervous. "Oh! Excuse me," he said politely as he picked up the piano bench.

"Mother never let me near the piano..." Victoria said with a tiny smile. "Music is improper for a young lady. Too passionate, she says."

"If I may ask, M-Miss Everglot, where is your ch-ch-chaperone?" Victor was fidgeting with his blue tie.

"Perhaps...in view of the circumstances...you could call me Victoria,"

_ I like him already,_ she thought. The feeling in her stomach had definitely gone away now. Victor laughed awkwardly. "Heh, yes, of course...Victoria".

"Yes...Victor?" "T-tomorrow we are to be m-m-m-m-" Victor was struggling immensely with finishing his sentence.

"Married."

"Yes, m-married."

Victoria played with her hands. "Ever since I was a child, I've dreamt of my wedding day," she said. "I always hoped to find someone to fall...deeply in love with," she added, blushing furiously. "Someone to spend the rest of my life with. Silly, isn't it?" she asked with a smile.

Victor sat down next to her on the piano bench. "Yes, silly," he replied with a laugh. He quickly realized what he had said. "No, no, not at all!" he added. He placed his head in his hand, resting his elbow on the piano. Doing so, he accidentally knocked over a tiny vase holding a single forget-me-not. "Oh! Oh, dear. I'm so sorry." Victoria picked up the flower and gently sniffed its sweet fragrance, then offered it to Victor. She already liked him immensely. She could tell he liked her, too. Victor gently took the flower from her small hand when suddenly Victoria's mother barged in.

"What in propriety is this?" the woman practically shouted. She took Victor and Victoria by surprise. "You two shouldn't be alone together! Here it is one minute before five, and you're not at the rehearsal. Pastor Galswells is waiting," she scolded them fiercely. _What do you mean we shouldn't be alone together?_ Victor and Victoria thought. _We're getting married!_ The two quickly looked at each other, blushing madly. Victor offered his arm suavely to Victoria. She politely took it and they walked into the sitting room together. Victoria's tiny smile grew very wide. Her blush grew even redder. It was undeniable: Victoria Everglot loved Victor Van Dort already.

FIN.


End file.
